Sheila Dikshit for measures to make Delhi heart healthy

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit who recently underwent an angioplasty to unclog blocked arteries has now become the latest “healthy heart” ambassador.

| TNN | Dec 9, 2012, 01.45 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit who recently underwent an angioplasty to unclog blocked arteries has now become the latest "healthy heart" ambassador.

Dikshit is believed to have asked the 4,000-member strong Cardiology Society of India (CSI) to draft chapters that will be incorporated in the school syllabus in the city on "how to keep your heart healthy" for students of Class IX to XII.

Dikshit is also using her muscle to back a proposal by the CSI to ban food with transfat in schools and in the tiffin boxes of students.

Speaking at the annual conference of the CSI, Dikshit on Thursday said a roadmap will be formulated in the next few months on how to make Delhi and other states heart healthy.

She said Delhi is home to "around 50 first class private and government hospitals and there is a clear possibility for a public private partnership on making the state heart healthy".

CSI president Dr Ashok Seth, who recently conducted the angioplasty on Dikshit submitted a memorandum that promises to make Delhi a "happy heart state."

The memorandum says that CSI offers its partnership to the Delhi government to create "public awareness campaigns regarding heart disease, heart attacks and its prevention, create heart health awareness in school children, creation and implementation of curriculum related to prevention of heart disease and promotion of heart healthy diets".

The CSI also envisions conducting mass cholesterol and obesity checks, regulate transfats in packaged and restaurant foods, encourage exercise through more green spaces and fresh air and mandate offices, employees and corporates to implement healthy heart policies at work.

Speaking to TOI, Dr Seth said "it is the most formative years for children in classes IX to XII and if they are formally taught how to keep their heart healthy, they will grow up to be fit." A recent study by Dr Anoop Misra from Fortis hospital found that the prevalence of obesity has increased significantly in the past three years in urban Asian Indian adolescents aged 14-17 years in north India.

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